Journal: Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry
Volume: JDFM 04:1 (Fall 2013)
Article: Equipping The Generations: Words Of Grace For The Repentant Parent
Author: Todd W. Meadows

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JDFM 4:1 (Fall 2013) p. 66

Equipping The Generations: Words Of Grace For The Repentant Parent

Todd W. Meadows

Todd and his wife, Stephanie, have been blessed with four children. Todd serves as Pastor of Students and International Missions at Grace Baptist Church in Somerset, Kentucky and received his Doctor of Ministry in Family Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

You have read the books, been to the conferences, favorited the latest tweets, and perhaps even received a degree declaring that you are a “certified” expert on how to minister to families. Now, if the parents in your ministry will just follow your advice, their home will be overflowing with Bible studies and wonderful times of discipleship.

The parents in your ministry, however, sit in the pews each week exhausted from work, anxious over finances, disillusioned by the task of parenting, and disappointed in themselves for not being able to do what you are calling them to do. They have read your articles, heard your sermons, and patiently listened to you as you exhorted them to lead their children spiritually. But, they are struggling. Perhaps busyness has won another battle, a lack of confidence has caused them to avoid the subject of family worship, or the realization of past mistakes paralyzes them so that they dare not attempt to provide spiritual leadership at home. Now they sit, once again, feeling guilty for not doing what they know they should do. What do you say to these parents?

Over the past several years, there has been a much-needed revival in the church toward a more biblical approach to the ministry to families. Leaving behind the program-driven student ministry paradigm of the latter part of the Twentieth Century, many pastors are seeking to reconnect the church and the home—the two primary institutions God ordained for the discipleship of children and teens.

One hallmark of this revival is the clear call from pastors for parents to be the primary disciplers of their children. Ideally, this call never comes without the pastor also equipping the parents he shepherds to fulfill their calling because parents not only need to know their calling, they also need to be fitted with the necessary resources and skills to carry out their calling. However, the reality is that as parents are called and equipped to disciple their children, they are naturally confronted with the grim reality that many of them have not been doing what God has called them to do in regard to the discipleship of their children. The result? Guilt, shame, and regret. The wise pastor must, therefore, realize the feelings of conviction experienced by his parents and minister God’s grace to them, for the grace we have received in Christ should compel us to extend gr...

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